I completely understand. And from what you posted, of course you have an excellent opportunity to gain admission. You are certainly well qualified. If you do not secure admission during January, I suggest, in mid-February, sending a single, brief, but well-worded email to your admissions counselor (copying the admissions email of your chosen school) reaffirming that USC is your top-choice (if true) and possibly even committing to attending (again, if true). As USC states in its own Insider’s Guide to Applying, they welcome such statements, if accurate. They are looking for people with a strong affinity for USC who may actually fare well there and add to the greater Trojan community. Letting them know that’s you is not only appropriate… but wise.
Good Luck…
I had this show up in my informed delivery today. Did you ever find out what it was?
@Cinnamom what did you receive in your informed delivery today?
I received a note saying I had a mail piece without an image. Probably nothing, but I can’t be sure.
Nothing out yet all, relax, and just keep busy.
I received the one mailpiece without an image, but also have an image of a letter from the USC Admission and Financial Aid office addressed to my parents?
We got mail from financial aid office with a booklet this weekend. So false alarm likely.
It may be time for a little bit of perspective…
Every late January, many who applied to USC by December 1st, but who fail to get in with merit money during January, look at the decision as tantamount to a rejection. Clearly though, no one is actually eliminated from the admissions process during January, but the cost concerns will mean that many, even though they may be admitted later in March, will still see this as the squashing of their dreams.
In reality, 58,640 of the 66,198 who applied last cycle were ultimately not admitted. I choose to say “not admitted” because in reality that is how USC sees it too. The simple reality is that they are not rejecting applicants. Instead, they are simply faced with the cruel reality of only having room for circa 3K new freshmen each year. They thus can only admit 7,000 to 7,500 or so in total. The massive # of new applicants each cycle makes their task extremely hard. They are only able to admit so many.
Unfortunately, disappointment does come along in life. It’s what you do next that matters most. Steven Spielberg desperately wanted to attend USC SCA… so much so that he tried three times to gain admission. He failed to gain admission all three times. But now there is a building bearing his name within the SCA complex, and he did very well despite lacking an SCA education. Bryan Singer also tried and was also not granted admission by either USC or SCA. He tried a second time and got into USC but again failed to get into SCA. He then succeeded as an internal transfer on his third try. Persistence can also pay off.
Many have faced the disappointment of not gaining admission to their dream schools. In my day, for me… it was Harvard… but Harvard saw it differently. Harvard also failed to admit Dr. Harold Varmus twice. He simply went on to win a Nobel Prize in Medicine. Harvard also failed to admit Warren Buffet. They surely would like a do-over on that one.
Every year around this time, it is important to remember that such failed efforts need not control our lives. And with the way that things have evolved… with the Common Application making it far too common for high school seniors to apply to 10+, 15+ or even 20+ schools, those disappointments are bound to add up. But these letters from admissions offices potentially detailing the bad news are not true assessments of student aptitude or ability or the quality of an application. They are simply the natural evolution of a cruel #s game. USC could clearly admit tens of thousands of quality applicants this year. They are instead stuck with the arduous, unwelcome and nearly impossible task of only picking 7000-7500 or so out of a field of 65-70K. They will even have to reluctantly disappoint 90% of all legacy applicants.
As Warren Buffet says in the article linked below: “The truth is that everything that has happened in my life…that I thought was a crushing defeat at the time, has turned out for the better. A temporary defeat is not a permanent one. In the end it can be an opportunity.”
To all of you active on CC or just following along without posting… good wishes and the best of luck getting in. If you do not get into USC, hopefully you will find your place at another great option. But clearly some will face disappointment. Some will not gain admission into their dream school. I wish it could be otherwise.
Here’s a link to an excellent article on the subject of those who went on to great success after facing such a similar set-back as aspirational high school seniors aiming for that dream school scenario…
https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704211704575139891390595962
Good Luck this week… or again in March…
I decided to change my post but can’t seem to delete it…so please forgive my edits…this will be an exciting week!
Newsflash!
So the update I recieved from a little birdie is the following:
Packages being sent on Thursday. This means:
- Friday would be Socal
- Saturday would be a lot of the country, particularly major metros.
- Portal will update Sunday (Saturday after midnight) hoping they post time they will update, it may not be till Sunday mid-day.
-Third day is Sunday, but most will have portal update before package at this point.
Those not receiving scholarship will get letter in portal saying thanks for playing, no scholarship, wait till March to see if admitted.
They are giving 1100 invitations for scholarships this year and change is you won’t know what scholarship you are interviewing for. This is BIG change.
Explore will not be an overnight event as it has been forever. Just a day event. Another BIG change.
They received 58K applications. While I wasn’t given the figure, it’s usually about 40K recieved by Dec 1 for scholarship consideration.
Thanks Birdie. (wish they would surprise us and send Wed, but it sounds like Thurs is the day)
Thanks for the info from your little birdie @CADREAMIN!! 58k?! Wow! Interesting about the changes. Too bad not being sent til Thursday but that’s what you expected anyway.
Thanks @CADREAMIN! I assume you mean 58K total, not 58K before the December 1 deadline. Didn’t USC get 66K freshman applications last year?
I always wondered if the scandal would change the number of applicants this year.
So many people at my school already checking ups and mailings. So sad it won’t be till Thursday and Friday and that there are so many changes!
Oh @VryCnfsd I misunderstood, thought @CADREAMIN was saying they received 58k by Dec. 1 but now that I saw your comment and read what she said again, I think you are right that she meant 58k overall.
Hey! You mentioned the USC Insiders Guide and how they welcome such comments. I tried to find that guide with that knowledge but I couldn’t! Do you have the link?
You are awesome @CADREAMIN !
For those who get Dean’s scholarships, what is the process? Do they initially get an email that they aren’t getting a scholarship and then actually get one?
Also, who makes the decision on who to invite for scholarships? Is it admissions for each school?
Wow, so much knowledge on this board. Thank you to everyone who has shared.
Quick question . . . one thing is not clear to me–do we have to send in mid-year reports? In one place, it says only if asked. In another, it says there is a place in the portal and appears to indicate it is mandatory (I cannot find a place on the portal). Any help is appreciated!
@marietagbo this is the Insider’s Guide that @WWWard has posted in the past https://tfm.usc.edu/a-guide-to-uscs-college-admissions-process/
If you are one of the 1,100 will you get some sort of merit award or is it possible that some of the 1,100, while gaining early admission, will not ultimately get a merit award after the interview rounds?
I am thrilled they did away with the overnight. When my daughter was asked to interview in 2017 for the Trustee Scholarship with an overnight - I can positively tell you her overnight killed her enthusiasm for USC. She was in a group with a few others with the same host. Slept on the floor the night before her interview - and seeing what went on in the dorms (lots of partying/drinking) really turned her off. Now, as a parent, I get it, yes, people party and drink. But, for an incoming freshman about to interview the next day for the full scholarship, sleeping on the floor and seeing this going on - well, it did not sit right. I think overnights are really the luck of the draw at most schools. So, I do think it is a better move to NOT have overnights.
Interesting that one will not know what scholarship they are interviewing for. Curious this year how the Deans will play into it - as Deans is not a scholarship that one interviews for.
As far as applications, interesting if total apps are down - but we are seeing this among other schools too. Duke was down in their ED apps this year. But, I know many from last year that had applied and said if they got in - because of Varsity Blues - they would not attend. USC ended up moving many from the Spring Admits into Fall last year. (Spring Admits effectively being their “waitlist.”). I suspect the bad press and other news did not bode well for USC.